The hydrogen-containing fluorinated hydrocarbons, having low ozone depletion potentials, are candidates to replace certain commercial perhalocarbons suspected of contributing to the destruction of stratospheric ozone. One route to hydrogen-containing fluorinated materials involves addition of HF to an appropriate haloolefin, followed, if necessary to achieve a desired fluorine content, by halogen exchange fluorination of the HF adduct. Although various such reaction schemes are known, none is entirely satisfactory from a commercial standpoint. With few exceptions, a catalyst is required for practical results. Even so, many of the catalysts are inherently limited as to the degree of fluorination they can provide. The more effective catalysts, generally transition metal compounds, are expensive, often requiring specialized methods for their preparation and maintenance.
Furthermore, whatever catalyst is used, rather large excesses of HF over the stoichometric amounts are usually required, particularly to attain multiple halogen exchange fluorinations of the initially formed HF adduct. The burden of processing the excess corrosive HF adds significantly to the investment in equipment as well as the operating costs of the process.